FOI reveals only ten MPs donate to charity through payroll giving

Peter O’Hara, managing director of Workplace Giving UK, which funds the Geared for Giving Campaign, said MPs were unaware of the tax benefits of giving from pay

Only ten MPs, or 1.5 per cent of the total, donate to charity through payroll giving, despite the government’s pledge to set an example last year, according to figures from the Geared for Giving Campaign.

The campaign, launched in 2008 to encourage more employers to promote payroll giving, obtained the information through a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

I am a journalist and author. I am a staff writer at the UK edition of WIRED magazine and in 2015 my book, Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. I created FOI Directory in 2012.